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Everybody has to learn to read. For most of us, unlocking the code of the ABCs is relatively easy — we learn the letters and their sounds and soon enough we’re sounding out words, memorizing them and putting sentences together. But for one in five people, learning to read is a struggle, requiring special strategies, and a lot of repetition.

For Tannis McKay, 14, learning to read was very tough. She’s had tutors and attends a private school with specialized instruction, but still she has a hard time reading and spelling. Fortunately, she excels at sports, playing both soccer and hockey at a high level, said her mom, Cathy McMillan. She played on the provincial soccer team for her age group and was the points leader in a provincial hockey tournament.

Learning to read a struggle for one in fiveBack to video

Tannis said learning to read was frustrating, but once she learned some strategies for spelling and reading, it wasn’t too bad. She definitely prefers playing sports.

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“Because of the way I learn, soccer and hockey are a lot more fun. Spelling and reading are just frustrating and boring because they’re so hard,” McKay said.

The most helpful things at school are having a strong relationship with her teachers and being able to use technology to show what she has learned.

“When I grow up, I want to run a successful company like Apple,” McKay said. “I use a lot of technology at school and it really helps me. I’d like to run a company one day that can help other kids with dyslexia.”

When someone has trouble learning to read, it’s usually because of a learning disability called dyslexia, which translates literally into trouble with words.

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It’s an invisible disability that knows no socio-economic boundaries and is often found in people who are gifted, or those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, said Nancy Young, a former teacher who is now a reading and spelling specialist and educational consultant.

Although more research is needed, studies indicate that more boys than girls have dyslexia, with some experts saying the ratio could be as high as three to one, Young said. It affects people with average to above-average intelligence.

“Many of our brightest people — people who can solve some of our problems — have dyslexia,” Young said.

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Some people with dyslexia are very good at spatial reasoning and McMillan said the spatial aspect is what she thinks makes her daughter so adept at sports.

Research shows that 95 per cent of all children can learn to read, but sometimes it takes specific strategies, Young said. While a small percentage of students may only need four repetitions to master a reading skill, most children will need 150, but students with dyslexia may need 250 repetitions, Young said. She also advocates for students to learn more about the English language — everything from where words come from to what the parts of words mean or how different spellings emerged — will help all students, from those who read easily to those with dyslexia.

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Using those strategies can pay off; Young pointed to a Statistics Canada study that shows that a one-per-cent increase in literacy equates to a $32-billion rise in national income.

The most recent statistics for B.C. show more than 18,000 students have a learning disability and Young said 80 to 90 per cent of those would be students with dyslexia. The share of students with a learning disability is up to 3.3 per cent from 2.5 per cent in 2002.

Students identified with a learning disability don’t receive targeted extra funding for learning support, but Young says many students with dyslexia can be taught to read well without extra funding, provided they are identified at a young age and their teachers are trained to recognize and address dyslexia specifically.

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“We must be screening for dyslexia in kindergarten all the way up to Grade 6, because the earlier it’s identified, the easier it is to address,” Young said. “The research shows that if they’re not reading by Grade 3, there are huge risks for not achieving at school.

“Because of brain plasticity, the earlier a child is identified, the easier they’re going to develop the brain circuitry that is necessary to read.”

McMillan was told when her daughter was in Grade 2 in public school that she would never get any extra support in the classroom. That led the family to seek out a private school, which had a two-year waiting list and expensive tuition fees, said McMillan, who has since founded the B.C. branch of Decoding Dyslexia, an organization that raises awareness about the learning disability.

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There is a strong genetic link with dyslexia, one that causes the brains of people with dyslexia to need more repetitions and more explicit instruction before they can learn to read.

McMillan said she struggled while learning to read and probably has dyslexia. Her son, who is now in Grade 12, also has mild dyslexia that wasn’t diagnosed until Grade 7. He spent a month of his summer vacation one year in a remediation program and he’s now on the honour roll.

But not everyone is able to catch up. As many as 42 per cent of Canadians have low literacy levels, which closely relates to the 40 per cent of people that have trouble learning to read without explicit instruction, Young said. Within that 40 per cent, between 10 and 20 per cent have dyslexia.

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Young says screening doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult for teachers to administer. She said there are tests that can be given easily and quickly, three times a year, which will reveal students who are at risk.

“Teachers want to know this — they want to be able to help their students. We need to give them the training and support them,” Young said.

With the increase in technology, the need for reading is increasing, not decreasing, Young said, adding that when children don’t get help with reading, it can be very frustrating.

“The really tragic thing is to think of the bright kids in this area who don’t get help,” Young said. “Social-emotional difficulties are very, very common because they’re bright but can’t show the world.”

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Using Ministry of Education data, The Vancouver Sun has prepared an online database where parents can look up their child’s classroom, school and district to find the number of students who are English language learners (ELL) and those who have special needs. Visit vancouversun.com to access this database.

October is dyslexia and learning disabilities awareness month and Young, who is writing two books on active learning strategies for dyslexia, will be appearing at an event sponsored by the Learning Disabilities Association Fraser South. There will be two sessions, Oct. 22 and 23, one for parents and the other for teachers. For more information, visit http://www.ldafs.org/upcoming-events.

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